Computer for psychological data



Jhne 3, 1924.

T.B HOMAN COMPUTER FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL- DATA Iboma; l3. floman,

Filed Oct. 13 1922 total value expresing Patented June 3, 1924.

UNITED srA-Tas THOMAS B. ROMAN, OF CEDAR FALL, IOWA.

comurna ron' rsYcno'LoeIcaL DATA.

Applicaticn fi led October 18, 1922. Serial No. 594,326;

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, THOMAS B. HOMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident. of Cedar Falls, Blackhawk' County, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Computers for Psychological Data, of which theifollowing is a specification,

My invention relates to improvements in computers, and specifically to computers for use in psychological tests, and the object of my improvement is to provide a device which can be adjusted to determine an intelligence quotient after a summarized total of tests has been arrived at.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafter described and claimed, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich Fig. 1 is a plan of my improved" device, and Fig. 2- is an end elevation thereof,

In order to properly determine the rela-' tive mentality of an individual in ca I rison with.a normal one, the individual under examination submits to psychological tests of an suitable kind whose results are com pare and combined, then summarized in a the mental age in years, the nature being sub'ect to variation-"according to the individua' and not being important specifically as relates tothis invention.

The chronolo cai age of the individual is then compare with this mental age total,

by the use of the- -adjustable cooperating scales of my device, to indicate on one scale thereof a total which expresses said relative mentality.

My deviceis simple, and easily operated.

It comprises an elongated body or rule A,

having a longitudinal trench or slideway a whichis rabbeted at opposite interior 'angles acutely to receive a shdable elongated body B to prevent displacement of the latter in other than a lon 'tudinal direction.

The upper su aces of the bodies A and B.

. are in the same plane; These surfaces the bodies A and B are transversel graduated with like scales 1, 2 and-3, bot the majorand minor sub-divisions of each progressively diminishing. The graduations on the.

scales 1 and 3 of the spaced top parts of the body A are. transversely alined with each other, but these graduations have different numeral denominations and the fact that the graduations on the scales 1 and 3' sliding the particular tests as compared with each other without the relative use of the sliding scale 2. Thus, the scale 1 shows in its graduation, mental ages in years inlthe major sub-divisions and quarters of years in the minor sub-divisions, beginning with the year 2 and ending with j the year 20, but of course this system may subject having been made, summarized, and the total obtained denoting the mental age in years of the subject, t e chronological age in years of the subject being known, the

scale 2 should bemoved longitudinally 1n the slidewa' A to place the chronological age, or rat er the transverse line which 'denotes it, in alinement with that graduation on the fixed scale 1 which. denotes the mental age in years or fractions thereof of the subject as experimentally determined by the psychological tests. As both of the scales 2 and, 3 are of a decimal character, the arbitrarily selected an average of thechronological ages on the scale 2, which is also denominated and shown. by means of a coincident transverse are transversely alined has no significance uation 10 on the sliding scale 2, in icating graduation on't e scale 1 which indicates V the mental age, will be alined with a graduation or some part. of the space between graduations on said scale 3. The graduation thus found upon the scale 3 willhave the approximate numeral of the intelligence quotient of the subject. a

For instance, as shown in Fig. 11, when the graduation for 5 years on the scale 2 is alined with the graduation for 3% years on the "scale 1, the index line 4 will. be alined with and will indicate the numeral70 upon the scale 3 which will show that the; subject has an approximate mental efilciemcy" of 70% on the'scale 3 where the numeral .100 denotesv the norm. That is, the subject being 5 years old and having a mental age of 3% years, this intelligence quotient is found to be 70% of the normal. In this 7 way, a rapid and accurate psychological quotient may be obtained, which is very convenient when large numbers of individuals are being tested.

Having described my lnventlon, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device of the character described, comprising rigidly connected spaced parallel structures, one having graduations therealong to denote increasing onental ages, the other having identical opposite graduations therealong furnishing a scale denoting intelligence quotients, and a third structure mounted slidably between said structures and having identical-graduations therealong furnishing a scale denoting chronological ages and having an index ata determined average location thereon.

2. A device of the character described,-

comprising an elongated structure sealed with a series of' progressively dim nishing graduations to denote totals of psychologic tests at difi'ercnt increasing mental ages another like structure parallel therewith having opposite identical diminishing grad uatlons "to denote a series of increaslng m-- telligencequotients, and a. third structure 7 movable parallel to the others and having identical diminishing graduations therealong to denote a series of chronological ages and having a medial graduation thereon to serve as an index, to permit'of deducing an intelligence quotient on the secondmentioned structurefrom a selected graduation on the first-mentioned structure, when rHoM s- B. ,HOMAN. 

